Art Noveau, 2009 and left, Chrysanthemum, 2009
These photographs by Cecilia Paredes trick the eye by seeming to be floral wallpaper, then encourage a deeper look when you realize a person is there. The Peruvian artist paints and photographs herself to blend into her linen backdrops. Paredes states,
“I wrap, cover or paint my body with the same pattern of the material and ‘re–present’ myself as part of that landscape. Through this act, I am working on the theme of building my own identification with the entourage or part of the world where I live or where I feel I can call home. My bio has been described as nomadic so maybe this is also a need of addressing the process of constant relocation. There is also the factor in my mind that flora as we know it, is coming to be endangered so with all these preoccupations, I think that in these works, aesthetics bind with the anthropologic in order to register fragments of personal and social memory.”
To me, it speaks of women’s decorative role in society, their being told to be quiet and blend in, and here the artist blends with disquieting force.
Nocturne, 2009
Disquieting is certainly the right word for it. Especially the last photo. A nomad trapping herself in the wallpaper, hidden in plain sight.
By the way, do you know if that is her real name? Paredes means ‘walls’ in Spanish — seems a bit too perfect.
This is right up my alley, I LOVE it.
Excellent post. So intriguing & now I am curious about her name too.
… oh, she might be having some kind of Dorian Gray experience through her last name… and, Art, you probably picked up on it b/c of Oscar Wilde being the patron saint of this blog…
(Love her work!)
…oh, she might be having some kind of Dorian Gray experience b/c of her last name… and, Art, you probably picked up on it b/c of Oscar Wilde being the Patron Saint of this blog…
(Love her work!)
It’s true–I didn’t even think of the name! But her work before this series was not focused on wallpaper and she had the same name then.
Funny, no?
Wow! Interesting stuff. I would love to see it in real life.
Hah, fantastic 🙂
You’ve seen the ‘invisible car’ and the like, I guess? (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5261752/Artist-creates-invisible-car.html)
I wonder if any post-production is done on those… pretty cool, if not.